Alabama Bound! at Birmingham Public
Library, April 28, 2001

27 February 2001

ALABAMA BOUND! 2001 is coming soon. The Birmingham Public Library’s annual fair to celebrate Alabama authors and publishers will take place on Saturday, April 28, 2001, at the Central Library in downtown Birmingham. The celebration begins at 10:00 a.m. and lasts until 4 p.m. As in previous years, ALABAMA BOUND! will coincide with Operation New Birmingham’s Magic City Art Connection, making the city center a great place to be on April 28, 2001.

ALABAMA BOUND! brings writers and publishers together with readers and book lovers of all ages to share their love of reading, writing, and books. This year more than 50 authors will be on hand in the Library to autograph their books, chat with readers, and seize upon the rare opportunity to meet and talk with other writers. Distinct from any other event of its type in the state, ALABAMA BOUND! speaks about writing and publishing with an Alabama accent. At this unique book and author fair, the authors were born or raised in Alabama, they live and work here, or they look to the state’s people and places for their inspiration, imagery, backgrounds, topics, and themes. Alabama publishing will also be featured at ALABAMA BOUND! A number of publishers will represent their books and promote some of the wealth of literary material that is coming out of Alabama today.

The third edition of ALABAMA BOUND! promises to continue the success of its predecessors by welcoming both veteran writers and first-timers in the daylong celebration. In the previous two years the event spotlighted a number of popular authors who will be back in 2001 for an encore engagement. Returning authors include Rick Bragg (All Over but the Shoutin’), Vicky and Dennis Covington (Cleaving), Anne George (the Southern Sisters mysteries), and Charles Gaines (The Next Valley Over). Among the many other authors expected this year are Robert Inman (Coming Home), Charles and Debra Ghigna (Christmas is Coming), and Marvin Whiting (Vestavia Hills, a Place Apart).

Throughout the day in the Fiction Department on the first floor of the Library, some of the writers will take to the "author stage" to talk about their latest books, read excerpts of their work aloud, speak candidly about their own writing experiences, or recall their efforts to get published. The authors will take questions from the audience in a Q&A session that has become one of the most popular features of the day. In addition to interacting with the authors in these scheduled talks, book lovers will have numerous opportunities to mingle and talk informally with authors and other readers in gatherings throughout the building.

ALABAMA BOUND! is a great place for people to meet favorite authors, discover new ones, and learn how writers master their craft. It appeals to people of all ages and interests and honors authors of all sorts. The honorees include fiction and non-fiction writers, children’s book authors, romance writers, African-American authors, and, this year for the first time, some authors who write primarily for magazines, newspapers, and the World Wide Web.

The atmosphere is lively and fun. During the festivities books will be available for purchase and autographs. Souvenir canvas bags and tee shirts with the colorful and distinctive ALABAMA BOUND! logo will be for sale as well. Library staff members will sell coffee and snacks under the trees in the Library’s Atrium Café-for-a-day. Outside the Library in Linn Park, the Magic City Art Connection will host artists from around the southeast. Now in its 18^th year, this art show has become one of the premier annual art events in Birmingham.

ALABAMA BOUND! is a one-day event on the last Saturday in April at the downtown location of the Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place. The event begins at 10:00. It is open to the public with no applications to fill out, no reservations to make, and no fees to pay. Like all of the best things in life, ALABAMA BOUND! is free.

Authors appearing as of April 2, 2001:

Allison, Thomas Breaking up Moonshine Stills
Atkins, Ace Crossroad Blues
Bailey, Richard They Too Call Alabama Home
Bragg, Rick Somebody Told Me
Broerman, Joan Weekend Getaways In Alabama
Brunner, R. Scott Due South: Dispatches From Home
Cooper, Chip Common Threads
Cuhaj, Joe Alabama: An Atlas of Alabama’s Greatest Hiking
Davis, Priscilla Southern Dogs and Their People
DeVoto, Pat Out of the Night That Covers Me
Erickson, Ben Parting Gift
Frush, James Kind Hearts
Gamble, Roberta Southern Dogs and Their People
Ghigna, Charles Christmas is Coming
Ghigna, Debra Christmas is Coming
Haines, Carolyn Buried Bones
Hanna, James Milton Cornbread and Beans for Breakfast
*Haynes, Melinda Mother of Pearl
Hewitt-Berry, Corrine Irish Dreams
Hoffman, Roy Back Home: Journeys Through Mobile
Inman, Robert Coming Home: Life, Love and Small Things
Keith, Don First to the Flag
Logue, John Life at Southern Living
McWhorter, Diane Carry Me Home
Miller, Charlotte Behold, This Dreamer
Miller, William Tituba
Moss, Barbara Robinette Change Me Into Zeus’s’ Daughter
Naslund, Sena Jeter Ahab’s Wife
Redfield, James Secret of Shambhala
Redfield, Salle Creating A Life of Joy
Schafer, Elizabeth Exploring Harry Potter Cancelled
Short, Dale People’s Lawyer: Colorful Life and Times
Snyder, Mary You Can Afford to Stay Home
Stantis, Scott Taking a Stantis
Stewart, Mike Dog Island
Thompson, Stephen Gift Before Dying
Whiting, Marvin Vestavia Hills Alabama: A Place Apart
Wilson, Bobby America's Johannesburg
Wyckoff, Malia You Can Afford to Stay Home
York, Tom Story of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

*schedule is subject to change due to early printing of her new book.